


Catch me if I fall, like a Comet I will burn

by Sabsel98



Series: Catch me-verse [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: And Scarecrow's on the loose, Damian's a sassy little shit, F/M, I have three major plot threads and two romantic subplots, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jason is also a little shit, M/M, Stephanie Brown Needs a Hug, The DamiTim is slower, The StephDick is a fast-burn, There might be some smut in this, There's a serial killer running around, There's definitely smut in this now, Tim is a sweetheart, Why have I done this to myself?, and a stalker, so does Dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:54:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27934953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sabsel98/pseuds/Sabsel98
Summary: Catch me if I fall, like a comet I will burn.Blazing through the nightand breaking as I fall.I will sear into your skin, the meaning of my love.With roses of crystaland a gown of fear.Catch me if I fall, like a fire I will die.With tears in my eyesand a plea upon my lips.I will marr your heart, with my soul-less grasp.And you will sing a songof your despair and pain.(A.K.A: I wrote a shitty poem because I suck at summaries.)
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Dick Grayson, Tim Drake/Damian Wayne
Series: Catch me-verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091738
Comments: 15
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

The gravel crunched wetly underneath Red Robin's boots as he hit the rooftop. Damian was balancing on the little wall that separates the roof from the abyss below and the wet metal on top of the stone squeaked with each step he took.  
“Nothing out of the ordinary. I stopped a mugging at Wilkins' Street, otherwise it was pretty quiet.”, Drake reported to Father, who was fiddling with Damian's grapple-gun, it malfunctioned earlier, the cable not retracting like it should.  
Damian ended up crashing through a window because of it, thankfully the warehouse had been abandoned.  
“Any sign of Scarecrow?”, Father asked gruffly, not looking up form the device in his hands.  
“None, he's probably going to lay low for a while, at least until the buzz about his escape has died down somewhat.”  
Batman hummed.  
“I'd rather catch him before he has time to prepare something. We'll keep looking.”  
Drake nodded, then glanced at Damian.  
“Should you be clowning around like that, without your grappling-hook? You could fall.”  
Robin scoffed.  
“I am not 'clowning around', as you put it, and my balance is impeccable. I will not-”  
As if on cue, his foot slipped out from underneath him, the world tilted and then abruptly halted as a hand snatched his wrist.  
He was yanked back and thumped straight against Drake's chest.  
The older boy stumbled slightly and steadied them by putting a hand on Damian's hip.  
“Are you okay?”  
Robin craned his neck to look up at the blank white lenses of Red Robin's domino, his heart leaping into his throat.  
Oddly enough he was very focused on Drake's hands, one of which was still holding his wrist, while the other was settled on his hip.  
“I'm fine.”, he answered and took a step back, suddenly uncomfortable with their close proximity.  
Batman snorted.  
“You are rather clumsy tonight, Robin.”  
Damian definitely did _not_ pout at that.  
“The window wasn't my fault.”  
Father opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when their comms went off.  
“Uh, guys? I think I just found a body...”, Brown's voice sounded slightly strained.  
“What do you mean 'you think', is it a body or not?”, Damian snapped.  
“Calm your tits, Demonspawn. It could be a prank...I honestly hope it's a prank.”  
Batman chimed in at this point.  
“Where exactly are you? And what can you tell us about the situation?”  
The comm crackled and squeaked for a moment.  
“Er, I'm at the apartment building in Morrison Street, you know, the ugly yellow one and... uh, well, there's a body, in a dress.”  
Damian frowned, from the corner of his eye he saw Drake mirror the expression.  
“Anything you can tell us about the body without contaminating the crime scene?”, he asked.  
“Well, it's... small. Taller than Robin but smaller than you, Red...Caucasian, from what I can see...”  
Drake let out a curse and Damian felt something squeeze his stomach.  
“So either a teenager or a tall child, then.”, Father sighed.  
“Wait. You said the body's wearing a dress?” Drake asked.  
“Well, yes, a white, summer dress. The head's got a separate piece of cloth lying over it. It's fucking weird.”  
“Stay where you are, I'll be there soon. The GPD has already been alerted and are on their way, as well.”, Father said, after he had checked inn with Oracle, who had alerted the police.  
“Alright. Spoiler out.”  
Batman turned to them, his mouth a flat, grave line.  
“So much for this being a quiet night. You two can make it back home on your own?”  
He handed Damian his grappling-hook, who nodded.  
Drake nodded as well.  
“Yeah... See you later, B.”  
And with that the Batman vanished into the night.  
Drake and him made it back to the manor within half an hour and made for the lockers, eager to get out of their suits.  
“You think Bruce's gonna get involved?”  
The younger boy looked up, in the process of removing his boots, and frowned.  
“I don't know. Scarecrow's whereabouts seem more important than some Jon or Jane Doe. Father might want to investigate, though.”  
He peeled off his tunic, leaving it crumpled on the bench.  
“Because it's a kid...”  
“Yes.”  
“This is so fucked up.”  
Drake heaved a sigh and slung a towel over his shoulder, he was already down to his underwear and heading for the showers when Damian stopped him.  
“Hey, um... thank you.”  
The older boy turned to him, eyebrows raised high.  
“For what?”  
Damian's gaze hit the ground.  
“For catching me... I would have fallen if you hadn't been there. So... thank you.”  
A warm hand settled on his shoulder and the younger boy looked up.  
Drake was smiling softly, it did something strange to Damian's stomach.  
“Of course. I'll always catch you.”  
“Me too.”, the younger whispered, he didn't know why he was whispering, it just seemed appropriate.  
For a moment they just stood there, two boys, their gazes interlocked.  
Then it seemed to register to Drake that they were both in states of undress and he pulled pack with an awkward clearing of his throat.  
“Uh, I'll... you know... shower.”  
He then turned around and quickly headed for the shower stalls.  
Damian hid a snort and finished undressing, before heading to the showers himself.  
…  
…  
…  
Gotham PD Victim Report  
Name: Travis Jones  
Age: 13  
Sex: Male  
Height: 1.55 m  
Weight: 50 kg  
Eye color: Green  
Hair color: Dark brown  
Cause of death: Strangulation  
Notes: The victim shows signs of repeated sexual assault and mild starvation, there were minor defensive wounds and rope burns around the ankles and wrists, as well as chaffing marks around the neck, suggesting a collar of some kind. The victim was, however, strangled manually. He was found wearing a white, knee-length, sundress, a white pantyhose, lace panties and the face was covered with a white, cotton cloth. A single red camellia was found with the victim. According to the victim's mother, he went missing a week prior to his death, after visiting a friend. The coroner's report suggests that the victim was killed on the same day he was discovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this my first time writing for the Batman fandom, so I hope I can get the characters right.  
> English is also not my first language, so sorry for any errors.  
> If you guys spot anything that needs changing, please tell me and I will fix it.  
> Hope you enjoy!  
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Dick sat down on the park-bench and handed Damian his ice-cream. His little brother thanked him and started to eat, idly swinging his legs.  
Dick hid a grin behind his own ice-cream, Damian was pretty short for fourteen.  
Jason was teasing him mercilessly for it, since Bruce had already hit his growth spurt at that age and Damian was still the shortest in the family. Dick was kind of glad that his little brother would stay little, for just a bit longer, he'd already grown up in so many ways.  
It was also funny to just pick him up and sling him over his shoulder when he was being a brat.  
“What's the matter?”, Damian asked, looking at him suspiciously over his ice-cream.  
“Oh, I'm just thinking about how tiny you are.”  
The young man reached out a hand to ruffle his hair, which the boy slapped away, his face scrunched up.  
“I'm _not_ tiny! Don't you start like Todd, Richard!”  
Dick laughed.  
“Okay, okay! I won't mention it again, I promise!”  
Damian sent him a venomous look, but relaxed, and went back to swinging his legs.  
Dick leaned back, just enjoying the comfortable silence.  
Until Damian had to open his mouth and _ruin_ it.  
“By the way, what did you do to Brown? She's all weird around you, well, weirder than usual.”  
Dick choked on a bite of ice-cream and jerked in surprise, the motion caused the frozen treat to fall and flop unceremoniously onto the gravel path. For a moment the two just stared at the sad ball of ice-cream melting on the ground, then Damian burst into laughter.  
Dick didn't have three brothers, he had two brothers and a _gremlin_.  
“I-uh... Why would she be weird around me?”  
Damian shrugged and took a deliberate, long, lick from his ice-cream.  
 _Definitely a gremlin._  
“I don't know. Did you do something to piss her off? I mean, it's not like you slept with her, right?”  
A sarcastic little grin was tugging at his brother's lips, but it slowly vanished when all Dick could give him was a slow: “Um...”  
Damian gave him a _look._  
“Really, Richard? _Brown?_ Well, at least it's not Gordon again. But, still, Brown of all people?”  
Dick crossed his arms over his chest.  
“What's wrong with Steph?”  
“Nothing, really. Except for the fact that she was with _Drake,_ I don't think there's anything wrong with her.”  
Dick snorted, well aware that Damian didn't hate Tim anymore, if he ever had in the first place.  
“Oh, please, they were together for, like, two weeks, before they found out that Tim's as straight as a fruit loop.”  
Damian's face did an odd little spasm where it looked like he wanted to smile, but be confused at the same time, in the end it just settled on surprised.  
 _The fuck was that?_  
“Drake's gay?!”  
“Uh, yes? You didn't know that?”  
“How was I supposed to know that?”, the boy squawked.  
Dick shrugged, awkwardly.  
“Well, I mean, you're gay too, so you know...”  
His little brother narrowed his eyes at him.  
“You _do_ realize that a gaydar isn't actually a thing, right?”  
The young man opened and closed his mouth for a moment.  
“What the-?! No, Damian! I thought you might have spoken about it, seeing as you two, you know, _live in the same house!_ ”  
Damian blinked at him.  
“Oh... well, we didn't.”  
“Okay.”  
There was a beat of silence.  
“Well, this got awkward.”  
“Yup.”  
They glanced at each other, then both started chuckling.  
“So, ah, are you and Brown in a relationship, then?”  
Dick nervously rubbed the back of his neck.  
“Honestly, that's kind of the question here.”  
Damian raised an eyebrow at him.  
“So it was a one-night stand? No wonder she's being weird.”  
He had to look away from Damian's piercing green stare.  
“Yeah, it's... pretty awkward. I'm kinda floundering, too. I mean, does she want to pretend it never happened? Try and form a relationship? I don't know what to do here.”  
His little brother tilted his head.  
“Do _you_ want a relationship with her?”  
Dick ducked his head, feeling heat starting to creep up his neck.  
“Uh... yes? That would be pretty awesome.”  
“Huh. Sounds like you should talk to her, then, and not to me. Preferably _before_ she explodes from awkwardness.”  
Dick snorted and slung an arm around Damia's neck, tugging him into his side.  
“Look at you, being all mature!”  
The boy swatted at him, trying to squirm free.  
“Unhand me at once, Richard!”  
…  
…  
…  
Tim let his gaze sweep over the warehouse, his hands on his hips.  
Some chemicals had been reported missing the day before, all of which were key ingredients for fear toxin.  
It wasn't really a question whether Scarecrow had been the one to steal the chemicals, the question was how he'd gotten in, since there were no signs of forced entry, and where he went from there.  
 _If I was Scarecrow, then how would I get in here?_  
“You guys find anything?”  
Red Hood stuck his helmeted head from between some crates on the left.  
“Nope. He pried the crates open with a crowbar, loaded up on chems like he was grocery shopping, and, apparently, vanished into thin air.”  
Robin slowly padded over, from where he'd been inspecting the main gate and side doors.  
“He could've just walked out. The doors are both unlocked, since they only open from the inside.”  
Jason turned to him.  
“Are you _serious?_ ”  
Tim snorted, before firing his grapple-gun up into the rafters, he'd noticed a draft earlier and was going to look into it.  
 _Maybe a skylight, or a window? He would take the path of least resistance. And where did he go, after he was done?_  
“Are there security camera's outside? Maybe we can see where he went.”, he called down.  
“No cameras, because having a good security system isn't a priority in a city like _Gotham_. Seriously, it's like they _want_ to get robbed.”  
Tim balanced along the beam, following the air current to a slim, horizontal window.  
“Why bother? The rogues are going to get in, no matter what, and it's more expensive to rebuilt a wall that got blown up, then replace a broken lock.”, Damian said.  
Tim jumped down from the rafters and did a tuck-and-roll, before coming back up to his feet.  
Jason snorted.  
“Really, Timbo?”  
The teenager just grinned and shrugged. The fact that Damian looked kind of impressed didn't have anything to do with his little stunt, _at all._  
“So, there's an open window up there, that's probably how he got in.”  
The Red Hood turned and, seemingly, squinted up at the window.  
“Are you seriously telling me that Johnny-boy fit his gangly ass through there?”  
“He must be quite the contortionist.”, Robin deadpanned.  
The three of them slowly made their way over to one of the doors.  
“Ya think that's why Tetch is into him?”  
Tim almost fell flat on his face, but managed to catch himself.  
“Those two are a thing?! How?! There's, like, a meter of height between them!”  
“Maybe he just rides him?”, Jason suggested.  
“Oh, could we _not._ ”  
Robin had scrunched his nose up in disgust and pushed open the door with more force than necessary.  
They stepped out into the cold night air, the fishy scent of Gotham's harbor chasing away the stale smell of the warehouse.  
“Drake, what do you know about the Brown situation?”  
That caught him off-guard.  
“ _The Brown situation._ Jesus, kid, talk like a normal person for once.”  
“How about this: Fuck you, _Todd_.”  
Tim snorted, then he crossed his arms over his chest, thinking.  
Steph _had_ told him about her fling with Dick, had actually called him the moment she'd awkwardly left his apartment and freaked out at him, while committing her walk of shame.  
He tilted his head at Damian, the fact that he'd asked meant that Dick had spoken to him, this could be either bad, or very good.  
Tim decided to be cautious.  
“I know enough. Why, what did Dick say?”  
“What did Brown say?”, Damian countered immediately.  
The two boys stared at each other.  
Jason groaned.  
“Oh dear god, those two fucked, didn't they?”  
Tim glanced at the younger boy, before answering.  
“Yes, and Steph is, understandably, freaking out.”  
“I swear to god, if Dick fucks this up, like he did with Babs, I'm gonna fucking murder him.”  
Damian let out a huff, but turned his attention on Tim.  
“So, what's Brown's angle here? Does she want a relationship, or just pretend it didn't happen?”  
 _He asked about a relationship first. Is that what Dick wants then? Interesting._  
“Why is this so important to you? Why go out of your way to ask me, instead of just letting things play out on their own?”  
The boy looked down, squirming slightly in discomfort and...  
 _Holy shit is he blushing?! That's so fucking cute!_  
“Richard is my big brother and I want him to be happy... if Brown can make him happy, then I'm willing to help.”  
Tim blinked, feeling warmth bubble in his stomach.  
“That's- that's really sweet of you, Damian.”  
The boy flushed even darker, fidgeting with his cape in embarrassment.  
“Oh, yeah, real sweet. How come you never do anything to make me happy? I'm your big brother too, you know.”, Jason snarked.  
Damian's answer came like a shot.  
“You're not my brother, you're a fungus that attached itself to this family.”  
Tim let out a bark of laughter, while Jason made angry noises inside his helmet.  
“Why, you little demon!”  
Red Hood made a grab for him, but Robin danced out of the way and shot his line up to the next warehouse, he zipped up to the rooftop, laughter bubbling from his throat and Hood hot on his heels.  
Red Robin quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind.  
…  
…  
…  
Tim leaned against the railing behind the Batcomputer. Steph was sitting next to him, her legs hooked around the middle rail, so she wouldn't fall off, Jason was to his left, fiddling with his helmet and Dick and Damian were sitting against the Wall to the far right, chatting idly.  
Bruce had called them together after patrol, he sat in the chair in front of the computer, seemingly contemplating.  
“So, what's going on, B? This about Scarecrow? We didn't really find anything at the warehouse.”  
Jason hadn't looked up from his helmet.  
“No, it's about the body we found last week.”  
Next to him, Steph stiffened.  
“Has it been identified?”, she asked.  
“Yes, Travis Jones, who went missing a week before. There's also been a second victim, showing the same M.O., only the way the body is arranged has become more refined.”  
Tim swallowed, hard.  
“You think this is the beginning of a serial killer.”, Dick's voice was low and serious.  
Bruce nodded.  
“It has all the signs of one, he's methodical, arranges the victims in a specific way, he has a type of victim that he's looking for.”  
“Travis Jones, how old was he?... I mean, he was just so small...”  
Tim carefully reached out for Steph's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.  
Bruce sighed and leaned back into the chair, he looked far older than fourty-two, all of a sudden.  
“The boy was thirteen and the newest victim is fourteen.”  
Steph gripped his hand tighter and Tim let out a shaky breath, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Damian pull his knees up to his chest and Dick loop an arm around him.  
“Jesus fucking Christ.”, Jason cursed.  
“That's why, only Dick and I are going to investigate. I don't want the rest of you involved in this.”  
Tim felt an odd mixture of relief and indignation at that.  
“ _What?_ Bruce, this asshole is killing _kids!_ I understand why you wouldn't want the little ones involved, but-!”  
Jason's angry rant was interrupted by Bruce and Tim briefly wondered if he should be insulted at being called a “Little One”.  
“You are too emotionally invested to keep a clear head in this. I'm sorry, Jay, but you know you would get too upset over the victims.”  
“I... _fuck!_ ”  
His older brother ran a hand through his short, spiky hair making it stick up even more than usual.  
“I also want you to lead the investigation on Scarecrow, he's the bigger threat to the public and needs to be found before he can get something big off the ground.”  
“Aww, man. We'll have to listen to _Jason?_ ”, Steph whined, trying to lighten the mood.  
“What's that supposed to mean, Blondie?”  
As the two started to bicker, Tim slipped out from between them. He walked up next to Bruce, who had turned around to face the computer screen. He reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder.  
“You said that Jason was going to be too upset, but are you gonna be okay?”, he asked, softly.  
 _I don't want you to loose yourself in this, I don't want you to be frustrated and scared if you can't catch him, I don't want you to see us in these children._  
The older man turned to him and gave him a soft smile.  
“I'll be fine, Tim. So don't worry, okay?”  
The boy let go of Batman's shoulder and laced his hands together behind his back, he rolled up on the balls of his feet, before dropping back down onto his heels.  
“It's my job to worry about you, though. That's why I became Robin.”  
Bruce chuckled and laid a large hand on his head, gently mussing his hair.  
“You're a sweet kid, Tim. God knows, what I did to deserve you.”  
He ducked his head, feeling his cheeks warm.  
…  
…  
…  
Gotham PD Victim Report  
Name: Nick Farton  
Age: 14  
Sex: Male  
Height: 1.65m  
Weight: 64 kg  
Eye Color: Blue  
Hair Color: Black  
Cause of death: Strangulation  
Notes: The victim shows signs of repeated sexual assault and mild starvation, there were rope burns around the ankles and wrists, as well as chaffing marks around the neck. The victim was strangled manually. He was found wearing a cream wedding gown, sheer stockings, lace underwear and a sheer veil. The victim was found on the rooftop of Summerton Apartments and was lying on his back, holding a bouquet of red gerbera. According to the victim's family, he never came home from school, a week before his body was discovered. The victim was killed hours before being placed on the roof. A connection to the Jones case is possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy my attempts at humor.  
> I laughed like a lunatic while writing this, but if you didn't then that's okay too.  
> Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

Steph flopped down onto her couch, idly flipping through her mail.

_Advert, Advert, Bills, ugh, Advert, and Hello? What's this?_

She blinked at the blank envelope that stared back at her, she flipped it but there was no writing on the back either.

_Huh, somebody pulling a prank on me? I swear, if this is Tim._

She opened it and pulled out a letter that had been written using cutouts from a newspaper.

It read:

I've BEEN waTchin _g Y_ oU, MY  _sun_ GoddEs _s._

_P_ roTect _ing_ YoU frOM  _the_ sh _Ado_ ws thAT luR _k in_ Thi _S_ ciTy.

Yo _u A_ Re mI _ne aN_ d i wiLL  _k_ Eep  _y_ Ou sA _fe._

_M_ y deAR  _s_ TephA _nie_ cRy _st_ aL

Steph gaped at the letter, then flipped it to see if there was anything on the back.

There wasn't.

_What the fuck?_

She stuffed the letter back in the envelope and threw it onto her desk.

“Tim, you creepy fuck. I'm gonna kick your ass so hard.”

Steph made a grab for her phone to make a very annoyed phone call, but was interrupted when her doorbell rang.

She stood, surprised. She wasn't expecting anyone.

Steph went over to the speaker and pressed it, her heart hammering in her chest.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Steph. It's Dick.”

That made her heart race for a very different reason.

“Oh, hi! What's up?”

“I... I wanted to talk. Can I, uh, can I come up?”

_Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit._

“Oh, yeah, sure!”

She pressed the buzzer and whirled around, scanning her small apartment for any messes and thanking her lucky stars that she had cleaned up recently. She quickly bundled up the letters that were littering her coffee-table and stuffed them into her backpack, that was sitting by her desk. She then checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror, to make sure she didn't look like a total mess and opened the door after Dick had knocked.

He beamed at her, his dark blue eyes sparkling, and Steph's heart made a happy little leap.

_Good lord, why is this man so gorgeous?_

He held up a paper bag as he stepped into the apartment.

“I hopped into the little bakery across from my apartment, they've got the best pastries.”

She grinned and made a delighted noise high in her throat.

“You are the best! I'll put on some coffee, go make yourself at home.”

He chuckled, the sound warm and sweet like honey, as she bustled into her kitchenette.

A short while later, she placed two mugs of coffee on the low table, well aware that he was checking her out.

“You saw this ass naked. I don't see the point in staring at it, while clothed.”

He snorted and laid a hand on her hip to gently guide her to the couch.

“Well, it's a very nice ass.”

She could feel his fingertips trailing over her back as she sat, and swallowed.

“Coming from you, that's quite the compliment.”

He chuckled and took a sip of coffee.

She fished one of the pastries from the bag and took a bite. Steph outright moaned as the sweet filling hit her tongue.

“Oh my god. This is so good! Where did you say you got these?”

There was a boyish smile on his face as he took the other pastry for himself.

“There's this tiny, family-owned bakery across from my apartment building in Blüdhaven. I basically live in there, when I'm not at work. If I didn't move around so much, then you could probably roll me.”

The blonde laughed at the mental image.

The two of them ate, chatting idly.

“So...”, she looked at him from under her lashes, “You wanted to talk?”

He ran a hand through his hair.

“Uh, yes. What do you want to do here, Steph? Do you want to go back to being just friends? Do you want a no-strings-attached kind of thing? Do you want to try for a relationship? What do you want? Because I really like you and would like to date you, but if you don't, then that's okay too. You're not obligated to do anything, because of my feelings. I'll get over it. I have before, and we'll still be friends, don't worry.”

Steph stared at him, heart pounding in her ears.

_What the-? Did he just-? How?!_

“How are you real?”, she blurted.

He blinked at her, dumbfounded.

“What?”

Steph flushed and waved her hands at him.

“I mean, look at you! You're gorgeous, you're kind, you're funny, you're _good in bed._ And you just come here, bring me amazing food, and say that I can basically break your heart and we'll _still be friends!_ How do you exist?!”

Dick tilted his head to the side, an amused smile on his face, although his brows were drawn together in confusion.

“I just... do? So... is that a yes, or...?”

“Oh my _god._ ”

She took his face in her hands and kissed him because _Jesus Christ, this man!_

“Yes, that's a yes! _Honestly!_ ”

And Dick just beamed and pulled her into a hug, which she happily sunk into because, _god,_ Dick's hugs could cure cancer.

…

…

…

Damian flopped onto the couch in the living room, letting his legs dangle over the armrest.

He went over the last night again. Patrolling with Drake had been surprisingly fun. The two of them had bantered a lot, throwing quips back and forth and laughing easily. They'd also worked together quite well in stopping a mugging and a break-in. He had to admit that Drake was kind of cool. And very sweet, he'd been able to calm down the mugging victim way quicker than Damian would've been able to, just by talking to her in his soft voice and gently rubbing her back, until she'd stopped crying and agreed to wait for the police to arrive. He was also pretty, like, unfairly pretty, how could a boy be so- _Oh, no..._ Damian put a hand on his chest, over his traitorous heart, which was beating way too quickly and he realized, with something akin to dread clogging his throat, that Drake had always been able to make his heart race like that. _Oh, fuck no!_

He sat up abruptly, a strangled cry escaping his throat, and buried his hands into his short hair.

_No, no, no, this is not happening!_

“Uh... you alright there, Little D?”

Damian stared at his eldest brother, who'd just strolled into the room, with wide eyes.

Should he tell him? He opened his mouth, but then he imagined his reaction, which would probably be to just burst into laughter, and decided against it.

“I'm fine!”, he squeaked.

Richard threw him a disbelieving look.

“You sure? You know you can talk about anything to me, I won't make fun of you.”

Damian was quite sure that Richard  _would_ make fun of him, if he told him that he'd been, apparently,  _pulling Drake's pigtails _ since he was _ ten.  _ The boy felt his cheeks heat in mortification.

“Yes, I'm sure.”

Richard raised an eyebrow as if to say:  _ Are you, now? _

Damian quickly decided to change the topic.

“Have you read the article in the Gazette?”

The dark haired man frowned and sat down in the love-seat to the right.

“The one about the killer?”

Damian swung his legs around to sit cross-legged, so he could face him while talking to him.

“No, the one about _gardening._ ”

“Huh, didn't think you'd be interested in that, Dames.”

“ _ Richard. _ ”

His older brother gave him a smile, then sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“They're calling him the Child-Bride Killer. After the second and third victims being dressed like brides.”

The boy felt a shiver run down his spine and pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them.

“How's the investigation going?”

Richard leaned back into the seat, he looked exhausted.

“Badly. This guy is good, he leaves no traces of himself, no fingerprints, no DNA. The dresses are homemade and we tried tracing the materials, but it was a dead end. The stockings and stuff are bought, but it's the same thing there.”

Damian frowned.

“He  _ makes _ the dresses?”

“Yes, that's probably why he has them for a week. He takes their measurements and then gets to sewing.”

“The first victim was wearing a sundress, though?”

Richard sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

“Bruce thinks it was a crime of opportunity and that he didn't have the materials he needed, so he made do. It's also what sent him into this spree. He might be working towards some sort of goal, but we don't know what.”

Damian shuddered, what could possibly be the goal in doing something like this?

“Ah, shit. I shouldn't be telling you this. I'm sorry.”

The boy shook his head.

“It's fine. I mean, it's not like you're giving me any details.”

“It's still fucking disturbing, though....”

Damian let go of his knees and hopped up, he walked over to his brother and flopped himself into his lap.

“You're the one who has to deal with the really disturbing things, so don't worry about me.”

Richard wrapped his arms around the younger boy and let his cheek rest on top of his head.

“Thanks, Dami. You're a sweetheart.”

…

…

…

_Dear Journalists of the Gotham Gazette,_

_This is the individual who you so callously called the “Child-Bride Killer” in yesterday's article._

_Now, let me tell you that I was quite flattered to have taken up the front page, what I was not flattered about was the way you described me as a “depraved individual that preys on Gotham's children.”_

_I will have you know, that I am merely bringing my former brides back into my possession._

_You see, I was married to each of these lovely boys in another life and I plan to marry them again._

_I will have my seven brides and, this time, the seventh won't escape me._

_With regards,_

_Bluebeard_

…

…

…

Gotham PD Victim Report

Name: Michael Mendez

Age: 12

Sex: Male

Height: 1,50 m

Weight: 48 kg

Eye color: Hazel

Hair color: Black

Cause of Death: Strangulation

Notes: The victim shows signs of repeated sexual assault and mild starvation, there were rope burns around the ankles and wrists, as well as chaffing marks around the neck. The victim was strangled manually. He was found wearing a white wedding gown, white stockings, lace underwear and a sheer veil. The victim was found on a rooftop and was lying on his back, holding a bouquet of red lilies. According to the victim's father, he went missing from Gotham Mall, a week before his death. Again, he was killed on the same day he was deposited. This case is connected to the Jones and Farton cases and likely the work of a serial killer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you StephDick was a fast burn. ;)  
> Also Dami having a gay panic, Bluebeard being a creep and our stalker rearing his ugly little head.  
> Fun times all around!  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Steph quickly ran up the stairs from the cave to the manor. Bruce hated it when they came in through the cave, during the day, instead of using the front door, but, right now, Steph didn't care.

Her heart was pounding, blood rushing in her ears, as she ran through the manor, looking in every room, before finding Tim and Dick in the library, chatting.

“Tim, please tell me this is you being a creepy little shit.”

She slapped the two letters and the pictures, that had accompanied the second one, onto the table between the two males.

Dick took the first letter and read it over, his brow creasing in worry.

“The fuck?”, he murmured, reaching for the second one.

“What? Why would I do this?”, Tim asked, frowning down at the pictures that had been taken, of her going about her day in and around her apartment, two of them even showed her grocery shopping, suggesting the one taking the photos followed her around town, as well.

“I don't know, to freak me out? You're the stalker of the family!”

“I wouldn't stalk  _ you,  _ though!”

Both her and Dick stared at the teenager for a moment.

“Who  _ would  _ you stalk?”, Dick asked slowly.

Tim flushed bright red and hid his face in his hands.  
“That came out wrong! But, ah,”, he peeked out from in between his fingers, “Whoever is taking these, is using a pretty cheap camera. Probably one of those insta-print, wannabe-polaroid thingies.”

Steph snorted at his disgusted expression.

“I can hear your inner photographer weep.”

Dick leaned over and took a look at some of the pictures that showed her through the windows of her apartment.

“Can you tell from where they were shot?”

Steph plopped herself down on Dick's lap, who immediately wrapped an arm around her and hooked his chin over her shoulder. She felt the last of her anxiety seep out of her as she leaned back against him.

Tim gave them a little grin, before focusing on the pictures.

“Hmm, definitely somewhere up high. Maybe the fire escape of the apartment building next to yours?”

Steph leaned her head back against her boyfriend's shoulder and looked up at the bookshelves around them, thinking.

“That would make sense. It's pretty easy to get up there and you can see these windows from there. I'm suddenly really glad my bathroom doesn't have a window.”

She shuddered at the thought of some creep watching her shower.

Tim reached for one of the letters, his lavender eyes quickly flying over the text.

“We could run these through the Batcomputer, see if he left anything on here, or if it's some kind of special paper. Also the fact that he calls you by your full name as well as your middle name is fucking  _ creepy. _ ”

“Imagine how I'm feeling.”, she deadpanned.

Dick pressed a kiss against her temple.

“Don't worry, we'll find this creep. Let's go down to the cave.”

He bounced his leg, making her bounce as well. She squeaked and threw a glare over her shoulder, but stood. Tim snorted and gathered the letters and pictures up.

They headed out of the library and down the hall to the foyer. Dick turned the arms of the grandfather clock and the three of them descended down into the Batcave.

“Where's Bruce?”, Tim asked after switching on the Batcomputer.

“He's asleep, he definitely needed it.”

Dick answered, while sliding into the chair in front of the computer, her and Tim leaned against the console on either side of him.

Steph made a surprised noise in the back of her throat.

“You managed to get him to sleep? How?”

“I sicked Alfred on him.”

Both her and Tim snorted, the boy, however, frowned after a moment.

“How's he holding up?”

Dick sighed, typing something into the keyboard.

“He's frustrated. And... and I think he's scared. Seeing the crime scene's... it's eating at him, especially the last one.”

Steph bit her lip, recalling the last victim from the news.

“Because he's the youngest?”

Her boyfriend gave a grim nod.

“That and...”, he leaned away from the computer, letting it work it's magic,” when we got there...”

He took a deep breath and let it out shakily. Steph exchanged a worried look with Tim.

“He looked like Damian... Not once you got closer, but... from a distance, he looked like Damian.”

Tim made an odd, strangled noise and Steph stepped forward, pulling Dick towards her, so he could rest his head against her chest, and started to run a hand through his hair. He melted into her touch and closed his eyes, just listening to the steady thrum of her heart for a bit.

“Maybe you guys shouldn't be working this case at all. Leave it to the GPD, for once.”, she suggested softly.

He snorted, his eyes still closed.

“Try convincing Bruce of that. You know him, he's like a dog with a bone. And I... I don't want to leave him alone with this, so I'm in it too.”, she felt him swallow and his next words were barely above a whisper, “Even if I don't want to be...”

Beside them, the Batcomputer beeped and Tim leaned over, looking at the results it had spat out.

Her heart sank with his frown.

“And?”, Dick asked, gently untangling himself from her.

“Nothing, no fingerprints but ours, the paper is generic printer paper, nothing special about the glue and he wasn't stupid enough to lick the envelope.”

A slightly hysterical laugh bubbled up from her throat.

“Oh well, at least my stalker isn't an idiot!”

“Steph.” Dick had reached up and cupped her cheek, “This asshole is trying to scare you. Don't let him. You can kick his ass three ways to Sunday. So you have nothing to be afraid of.”

She took a steadying breath.

“Okay, yeah. You're right.”

Tim had come over to her side as well, she took his hand and he gave it a squeeze.

“Maybe you should go to the police? If there's an increased police presence around your neighborhood then he might leave.”

The young woman frowned, thoughtful.

“I can try, although I doubt that, with this Bluebeard guy running around, they'll pay much attention to a stalker case. Especially since he hasn't approached me in some way.”

Dick sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“I'm sure Jim will at least spare a patrol car to make a round on the block, That might be enough to scare him off.”

Steph chewed on her lip nervously.

“I hope so.”

…

…

…

Tim peeked into the living room and saw Damian sitting at the coffee-table, drawing in one of his notebooks. He looked lovely, with charcoal staining his fingers, the afternoon sun painting his cheekbones and putting highlights into his dark hair. Part of him wanted to snap a picture, but he shoved  _ that _ thought away very quickly.

_Jesus, Steph was right. I am a creepy little shit._

He took a deep breath and walked into the room, pretending he hadn't just been peeking at Damian like a weirdo.

“Hey, Dames. What are you drawing?”

He flopped onto the couch next to the smaller boy, who startled and hastily covered his notebook.

“Ack! Warn a person, Drake!”

Tim tilted his head to the side.

“You didn't hear me come in?”

Damian's cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink in embarrassment, now he really wanted to take a picture.

_No, bad thoughts! Go away!_

“I was focusing!”

“Well, what are you drawing?”, he repeated.

Damian flushed even more and Tim could feel his curiosity grow.

“That's none of your business, Drake!”

_Now I really wanna know._

Tim tried to take a peek, but Damian quickly clutched the notebook to his chest.

“Don't peek! I'm not showing you!”

“Oh, come on, please?”

“Tt,  _ no. _ ”

The older boy made a lunge for him, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. Damian ducked and grabbed a pillow with one hand, he then smashed it right into Tim's face. The older boy let out a startled “oof” and flopped sideways and half-off the couch.

They stared at each other, Damian with his notebook pressed to his chest and one hand holding one of the throw-pillows, and Tim having one hand on the ground to keep himself from falling completely on the floor.

The sixteen year-old narrowed his eyes, although he was grinning.

“Oh, now you're getting it.”

Damian's moss-green eyes glittered with challenge and he stuffed the notebook under his shirt, before grabbing a second pillow.

“Bring it, Drake.”

Tim grabbed a pillow with his free hand and used the one one the ground to flip into a one-handed handspring, he landed on his feet and ducked underneath a pillow that Damian threw at him. It careened straight into a bookshelf, knocking all the books and knick-knacks in it down. Tim threw himself out of the way of the second pillow, which knocked Damian's drawing supplies off the coffee-table. He dove after it and whirled, when he heard rapidly approaching footsteps. Damian tried to whack him in the face again, but Tim managed to dodge and slapped his right pillow into the other boy's chest, making him stumble back slightly. He tried to swipe his feet, but Damian hopped over his outstretched leg and caught Tim in the back of the head on his way down.

The older boy grabbed his arm and threw him toward the couch, Damian flipped in mid-air, meaning to kick off the backrest of the sofa and back at him.

The couch, however, wasn't meant to be used as a springboard and toppled over with a mighty “thump”, Damian let out a startled shout and went tumbling with it.

Tim's heart leaped into his throat, the couch was  _ heavy,  _ if Damian got caught under it...

“Damian! Are you okay?”, he dropped his pillows and ran over, jumping over the fallen sofa in the process.

The younger boy lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, thankfully  _ not  _ trapped under the couch.

He sat up and took in the state of the living room with wide eyes.

“Drake. We are so dead.”

Tim looked around and winced.

The den looked like a tornado had come through.

_If Bruce doesn't kill us, Alfred will._

He helped Damian to his feet and the two of them just stared at each other for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

“Holy shit, what did you do?”

Tim blanched, because not only were Steph and Dick standing in the doorway, but he could also see Bruce, just behind them.

“We, ah, had a pillow-fight?”

“A pillow-fight.” Bruce ground out, while Dick started to crack up.

“Oh, god.  _ Run! _ ”, Tim squawked and grabbed Damian's hand to tug him out of the side-entrance.

The younger boy made a surprised noise, but followed along.

“ _ Boys! _ ”, came the angry shout behind them.


	5. Chapter 5

“So, what  _ were  _ you drawing?”

Damian whipped around to stare at Spoiler, who was crouching on the edge of the roof next to him.

“What? How do you even know about that?”

He shot his grapple across the street to a street-light and swung over to the next building.

“I watched the security footage, that looked like fun, by the way, until you toppled the couch, that is.”, she said, her boots squeaking on the wet concrete of the rooftop.

Damian shook his head, dislodging drops of water from his hair, it was a misty night.

“Like I told Drake, that's none of your business.”

He couldn't see her mouth, but her eyes crinkled in a way that gave away her cheshire-like grin.

“You know, I could just enhance the footage and see what you were doing, anyway.”

His heart dropped into his stomach.

“You  _ wouldn't. _ ”

She clasped her hands behind her back and skipped a few steps forward, then looked over her shoulder, her head tilted innocently.

“Wouldn't I?”

Damian watched her sashay over to the edge of the rooftop and felt his heart start to pound.

He scrunched up his face and scrubbed a hand through his hair.

“Don't laugh.”

Brown looked back at him, her cornflower eyes softening.

“I promise, I won't laugh.”

He looked down, feeling his cheeks heat.

“It was Drake. I was drawing him.”

Brown made a surprised noise in the back of her throat.

“Why are you so embarrassed about drawing-”

She stopped, and he could see the pieces fall into place in her eyes.

Then she actually  _ squealed. _

“You  _ like _ him!”

Damian ducked his head, feeling his entire face heat up.

“It's stupid, I know.”

To his surprise, the girl actually pulled him into a hug, happily rocking them from side to side.

“No! This isn't stupid! It's  _ perfect!  _ You totally have to tell him!”

Damian could feel all the color drain from his face, it actually made him a bit dizzy.

“What?! Are you insane?!”

She held him at arms length, her eyes glimmering brightly.

“Oh, no! You see-!”

A scream cut through the foggy, night air like a knife.

They moved immediately, following the hysterical screams through the fog.

A woman, maybe in her early twenties, was running through the streets, she stumbled and fell several times and kept looking around at the swirling mists like they were her worst nightmare.

_She's either drugged or Scarecrow is nearby._

Brown and him carefully approached the scared woman, she didn't look like a junkie, although somebody could've slipped something into her drink, either way, she needed help.

“No, no, no! Go away! Please, go away!”, she cried out, sobbing and squeezing her eyes shut.

“Easy. It's Spoiler and Robin. We're here to help. Is it okay if I touch you?”

Spoiler's voice was a gentle lull, similar to how someone might talk to a scared animal or a small child that was hurt.

The woman gave a terrified nod and Brown gently laid a hand on her back and started going in slow circles.

“There. Deep breaths. Robin is going to hold a canister in front of you, it will release a sweet smelling gas. I want you to take a deep breath when he does, okay? It's the antidote to fear toxin and will make the things you're seeing go away.”

Damian took out the small canister and slowly, telegraphing his movements, held it up to the woman.

She peeked at it, then squeezed her eyes shut again.

“Please.” she whimpered.

He released a dose of the antidote and the woman visibly calmed after a few deep breaths.

“Are you alright?”, he asked softly.

She looked at them, her eyes darting into the mists.

“I- There, there are still sh-shadows. L-Lurking in the m-mist.”

Spoiler frowned and Damian did too.

That had been a good dose of the antidote, if it didn't calm her completely then Scarecrow must have changed the recipe.

“Okay. Don't worry, they can't harm you. Can you tell us what happened?”, Brown asked, still rubbing the woman's back.

“I... I was o-on my w-way home, from a p-p-party, wh-when I was g-grabbed and... and in-injected with some-something. And th-then these m-monsters stated t-to chase m-me.”

Her eyes darted to the fog again, as if afraid something might jump out at her.

_An intravenous toxin? That's not his usual style, although she seems to only suffer from visual hallucinations, no additional auditory ones, maybe he's still perfecting the recipe?_

“Where were you grabbed?”, he asked.

“I-In the p-park, by the f-f-fountain.”

“How about I make sure you get home safely, hm?”

The woman nodded shakily and Spoiler gave him a look. He nodded, he'd check the Park, to see if there were any hints of Scarecrow's whereabouts.

Damian shot his line up to a building and made his way to Gotham Central Park. He crouched on a street-light and surveyed the area around the large fountain, the soft trickling of water filling the air.

It was unlikely that Crane was still in the area, but it was better to be cautious. He jumped down, landing on the gravel with a crunch. He could see where the woman had been attacked, the gravel disturbed by her struggling, and made his way over. He looked around. Scarecrow had probably hidden himself in the decorative shrubs and waited for his victim to approach, or he had tailed her through the mists and walked behind her on the grass, so as not to alert her with the crunch of the gravel. Damian decided to look into the bushes first. 

They were undisturbed, so he'd probably tailed her. Robin followed the path a bit and kept his eyes on the grass growing beside it. Sure enough, there were footprints.

He went back to the fountain and looked up at the lights.

_Where is it? Where is it? There!_

He smirked as he spotted the security camera. It had a perfect view of the area where the attack had happened.

“Oracle? I need you to get the security footage of the camera by the fountain in Central Park.”

“Sure thing, Robin. Got a lead on Scarecrow?”

“Maybe.”

…

…

…

Dick rubbed a hand down his cheek, grimacing at the rasp of stubble. He flopped down into a chair, interrupting Tim and Damian chatting over breakfast. He was currently crashing at the manor, so he didn't have to drive an hour every day, to work with Bruce on the case.

The  _ fucking _ case. Another boy had gone missing four days ago and Bruce was going nuts. The asshole was getting bolder too, he'd taken Tommy Jenkins right out of his bed.

“Morning, Dick.”, Tim said, unusually cheery for it being early in the morning.

“Hey Tim, you're in a good mood.”, he mumbled, before grabbing himself a cup of coffee from the pot.

_Mhm, coffee._

Weirdly enough Tim's cheeks pinked slightly, his eyes darting over to Damian, before dipping to the ground.

“Oh, well... Just... a good day, I guess.”

_Okay, what the fuck was that? Did Damian do something?_

He squinted at his youngest brother, trying to determine what he could've possibly done to put Tim in a good mood, when the kitchen door banged open.

“Hey Steph, what are you-?”

“This creep was in my apartment!”, she cried out, throwing a crumpled letter and a dozen pictures onto the kitchen table.

Dick felt the last traces of tiredness vanish, as he walked over to the table and picked up a set of pictures.

“What creep? What's going on?”, Damian asked.

“Steph has a stalker, who's a creepy asshole.”, Tim said, reading the letter, a mixture of anger and worry on his face.

“Brown has a  _ what? _ ”

Dick made to answer, but his words got stuck in his throat as he looked at one of the pictures.

White hot anger bubbled up in him.

_This piece of shit!_

“He was there while I was  _ asleep! _ He took pictures of me sleeping! He was right there and I didn't even notice! He could've done anything! He could've-!”

Steph's voice broke into a sob, he dropped the picture of her sleeping and pulled her into his arms.

She buried her face against his chest and cried, as he carded a hand through her blond curls.

“How did he even get into your apartment?”, Damian asked softly, his green eyes were wide, shaken.

“I-I don't know. I don't know!”

Dick tightened his hold on her.

“We'll look into it. And then we're booby trapping the hell out of your apartment. How does that sound?”, he asked against her hair.

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes.

“Good. Let's do that.”

Damian made a delighted noise and grinned.

“I've got some ideas for that! Come on, Drake!”

Before the older boy could protest, Damian had grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out of the kitchen.

Steph snorted.

“Well, aren't those two cute.”, she said it with a hint of knowing, that confused the hell out of him.

“Not really. The little monsters keep pranking me.”

His girlfriend looked up at him.

“I'm surprised they can get the drop on you. You're usually the best at prank wars.”

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

“Yeah, well, turns out that those two, working together, are an unholy combination that should've never been allowed to happen.”

A burst of laughter bubbled past her lips and Dick felt his heart swell with adoration.

“How so?”

“Try combining Tim's smarts and Damian's tenacity.”

She snorted.

“I can see how that might cause some trouble.”

“Let's hope it causes some trouble for your little problem, as well.”

…

…

…

Gotham PD Victim Report

Name: Thomas Jenkins

Age: 13

Sex: Male

Height: 1,58 m

Weight: 54 kg

Eye color: Blue

Hair color: Brown

Cause of Death: Strangulation

Notes: The victim shows signs of repeated sexual assault and mild starvation, there were rope burns around the ankles and wrists, as well as chaffing marks around the neck, the victim has minor defensive wounds. The victim was strangled manually. He was found wearing a white wedding gown, white stockings, lace underwear and a sheer veil. The victim was found on a rooftop and was lying on his back, holding a bouquet of primroses. The victim was taken from his home a week before his body was discovered. He was killed on the same day he was deposited. This case is connected to the Jones, Farton and Mendez cases and the work of the serial killer known as Bluebeard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooh! Double post!  
> Also, Dami didn't do anything, Tim's just happy to have breakfast with his crush, because he's a dork.  
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Tim sat on the railing behind the Batcomputer, in full Red Robin regalia. Robin had hopped up next to him, close enough that their shoulders touched, it had made his stomach swoop and he was still hyper-aware of the contact. Jason sat at the computer, Steph was leaning against the console to his right. Dick and Bruce were out, something about the fifth victim, that was slowly running out of time.

Jason swiveled around to face them, his fingers steepled in front of him.

“We have a lead.”, he said, his voice low and gravelly.

Steph leaned sideways, looking at him with one eyebrow raised.

“Are- are you imitating Bruce?”

His lips twitched.

“I am not imitating the Batman.”

Tim had to press his lips together to keep from laughing.

“Stop mocking father, Todd.”, Damian hissed, from beside him.

“Oh, shut up, Demonspawn.”, Jason snorted, his voice back to normal.

Damian crossed his arms over his chest and made his little 'tt' noise.

“I'm assuming you're talking about the security camera footage, which _I_ actually provided.”

“Technically it was Babs that got us that footage, brat.”

He could see Damian getting ready to argue and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

It worked like a charm, and Tim's heart made a happy little leap as he felt the younger boy relax into his touch. Robin turned to him and he couldn't help but smile at him, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, before releasing it. Damian's lips quirked up slightly and Tim could feel butterflies starting to flutter in his stomach.

“The fuck?”

Tim ripped his gaze away from the other boy and towards Jason, feeling his cheeks heat.

“So, the footage?”, Steph threw out quickly, taking their older brother's attention off of them.

_Steph, you're the best._

Red Hood turned towards the screen, calling up the footage from the park.

It showed the fountain, and Jason sped it up until the victim walked into view, Scarecrow creeping behind her in the grass. He came out of the fog like some evil spirit, his long legs carrying him quickly towards the woman, and sunk a syringe into her neck, she struggled and then started screaming in terror. Her head whipped around, she stumbled from side to side and then ran away in fear. Scarecrow's laughter following her through the fog.

“Jesus, this asshole.”, Spoiler murmured.

The rogue then trudged off in the same direction he'd come from.

Jason called up another window of security footage, this one showing Crane exiting the park and walking along a road towards the industrial area.

“You think he's somewhere in the industrial park?”, Tim asked, thinking, “There is the abandoned steel factory, as well as some empty warehouses. It's still a pretty big area to search, though. Might take us more than one night, and then there's the danger of him seeing us snooping around and moving.”

Jason spun around again, grinning.

“Way ahead of you, Timbo.”, he said smugly,”He's either in the old Steel Works, or in the abandoned Stryker Industries warehouse. 'Cause a crate of lab equipment went missing from Jericho Productions, and there's no way our Johnny-boy is lugging that shit all the way over to the other side of the industrial park, if he can just park his ass next door to them.”

Red Robin snorted.

“So, how are we gonna do this then? Do we stay together and search one after the other, or split up in teams of two?”

“The latter. Steph and I will take a look at the warehouse and you and the baby bat can search the factory, sound good?”

Tim hopped from the railing and Robin followed quickly.

Spoiler stretched her arms over her head and grinned at him.

“Ten bucks he's at the factory, 'cause it's creepier than a warehouse.”

Red tilted his head to the side, thinking.

“Deal.”

The two shook on it and then all four bats made their way to the garage where the vehicles were parked, Steph hopping onto the back of Jason's motorcycle.

He glanced at Robin.

“Are we gonna take the Redbird, or will you drive the Robincycle?”

Damian's cheeks pinked slightly.

“I'll go with you.”

“Alright, come on, then.”, The older boy said, feeling giddy.

The two bikes roared out of the cave and onto Gotham's dark streets.

Red Hood took the lead, swerving in front of them, deliberately taking sharp turns to make Steph squeal, his laughter and her angry swearing echoed in the empty streets.

Red Robin drove gentler, Damian a warm, solid, weight against his back.

It was a clear night, the moon a silver disc above them. They parked their bikes close to the industrial area and took to the rooftops. The bats split into two teams, after they landed on top of the Jericho Productions building.

Tim shot his grapple at one of the chimneys that rose out of the factory building like large, crooked teeth. He swung over and landed quietly on the flat roof, Robin right behind him.

“Do a perimeter check and meet up back here?”, he suggested, to which Tim agreed.

The two boys split up, creeping along the edges of the rooftop on opposite sides, checking every window on the way.

Most of the second floor windows were either completely gone or partially smashed in, only jagged shards remaining. The first floor windows had been boarded up to keep the homeless out, although it would be easy to pry the half-rotten wood away and enter the brick building anyway. Which is what Scarecrow seemed to have done, judging from the broken boards, that lay in the shrubs in front of a former side-entrance.

Tim and Damian met back up at the chimney.

“The boards were removed from one of the side doors.”, the older boy said softly.

“I saw light spilling through some of the first floor windows.”

Red nodded.

“So he is here. Damn it, now I owe Steph.”

A soft snort escaped Damian and he lifted his hand to his ear, to call inn the others.

Spoiler and Red Hood soon arrived, the blond girl shooting him a smug look.

“So, what's the plan?”, she asked, turning towards Hood.

Jason thought for a moment, the moonlight glinting off his helmet as he weighed his head from side to side.

“If he's on the first floor, then he's probably in the main hall at the front of the building. We enter on the second floor and drop on him from above. If he has his scythe with him, then Spoiler will remain up top to provide ranged support.”

That made sense, seeing as Steph was the one with both, the least experience and the worst hand to hand abilities, out of the four of them, she was, however, the best at stealth and could very easily remain hidden, while still providing long range support.

“I'll need more batarangs, then.”, she stated and the three boys readily handed over theirs.

The four of them then silently entered the building through one of the broken windows and made their way towards the main hall.

Spoiler split off from them, when they reached the large open room, zipping up into the rafters and melding into the shadows.

They crept along the gallery on either side of the room, Red Hood on one side and Red Robin and Robin on the other.

Scarecrow was bellow them, a workbench with chemical equipment in front of him. Red cursed internally when he saw the scythe propped up beside him, the long, wicked blade gleaming in a beam of moonlight.

_And here I'd hoped he wouldn't have that thing with him._

Tim squinted into the shadows on the other side of the hall, just making out Jason.

Red Hood gave the signal and the three of them jumped down, Robin landing directly on the table, scattering the beakers, and blocking the blade of the scythe with his katana. Tim came in from the right, going low with his staff, and Jason from the left, one of his knifes a streak of silver in the dim lighting.

Scarecrow disengaged Robin, blocked Tim's staff with the hilt of his weapon and ducked beneath Red Hood's swipe, he then threw himself backwards and battered Steph's batarangs out of the air with the flat of his blade.

“And, of course, the Bats are here. Oh, but only the children? How demeaning.”

The villain threw something small and cylindrical at them and the three scattered, not wanting to be dosed with fear toxin. The thing didn't emit gas, though, it instead exploded in a flash of light.

_A stun grenade?! Did he snatch it from Jason?_

Tim blinked the spots out of his eyes and shook his head to rid his ears of the ringing, almost wishing he had a helmet like his brother's, which wasn't affected by the light, or sound.

Red Hood had gone in, while the rest of them recovered, trying to cut Scarecrow's dominant arm, so he wouldn't be able to swing his weapon.

Red Robin threw himself forward, when he heard his brother cry out. Jason stumbled back, holding his side and Tim blocked the strike that would have taken the older boy's head off. Crane turned the scythe and yanked, while kicking him in the stomach. His staff was ripped from his grasp and he flew backwards, just managing to keep himself from falling. Scarecrow had to dodge several batarangs and blocked a vicious strike from Damian. Tim went for a high kick as Robin engaged the villain in a battle of blades. Red's leg was stopped by the hilt of the scythe and Crane twirled it, knocking him aside. It gave Robin the opening he needed, though, and he disarmed the villain with a flick of his sword. Scarecrow stumbled back with a shout as he was hit in the shoulder with a bullet from Jason, who'd taken out one of his guns. Crane rolled to the side, dodging both an attack from Robin, and one of Spoiler's projectiles. Damian made for an overhead strike, but doubled over as he was hit in the stomach with- _with Tim's staff._ Anger bubbled up inside him as Robin's katana went flying and Red snatched Scarecrow's scythe from the ground.

_Two can play that game, asshole._

Tim's anger was replaced with panic when the rogue pulled Damian close and rammed a syringe into his neck.

_No,no,no,no,no!_

Red Robin swung wide, flipping the scythe so that he didn't actually skewer the man, and caught him straight in the ribs just as Damian started screaming.

There was a visceral crack and the villain stumbled with a cry of pain. Steph unfolded her collapsible staff and descended upon him like an angel of death, just as Robin bolted.

“Robin!”, Tim called, his heart in his throat.

“Get him!”, Spoiler called, as she cracked Scarecrow over the head, after another of Jason's bullets had caught him in the hip.

Tim took off after Damian, who had ran outside into the dark night.

He found him cowering in a bush, his face hidden in his knees and his hands clamped over his ears.

The older boy's heart broke at the younger's scared sobs.

He approached slowly and crouched in front of him. “Damian? It's me Tim...”

Damian stilled for a moment, then peeked at him over his knees.

“D-D-Drake?”

Tim reached out, slowly, and laid a hand on the smaller boy's shin.

“Hey, it's okay. You're alright, Dami.”, he said softly.

Damian uncurled himself and threw his arms around Tim's neck, burying his face in his shoulder.

The sixteen year-old grunted in surprise, but cradled Damian closer after he felt him trembling in his arms. He gently carded his fingers through the boy's downy hair and rocked them from side to side.

“He's i-in the sha-shadows, w-w-waiting.”, Damian breathed, his voice high and wispy with terror and he periodically shook with suppressed sobs.

“It's okay. It's okay. I've got you.”, Tim promised, keeping his voice soft and non-threatening.

Damian snuggled closer, tucking his head underneath Tim's chin, he had at least stopped crying, but was still shaking terribly.

“Can you breathe this in? It's the antidote. You'll feel better.”

Tim took out the dose of antidote he was carrying, he unscrewed the cap and held it up to Damian.

For a moment he thought that he hadn't heard him, lost in whatever hell Scarecrow had put him in, but then he reluctantly untangled himself from Tim and let him administer the antidote.

Damian immediately tucked himself against him after, and Tim rested his cheek on top of his head, rubbing a slow circle on his back.

The younger boy flinched as the soft footsteps of Steph and Jason came closer.

“It's alright. It's just Steph and Jay, they won't hurt you.”

Tim looked up as the two rounded the corner, Jason leaning on Steph.

“How's he doing?”, the girl asked, worried.

The whimper Damian let out turned into a soft sob half-way through and Tim had to blink hard himself, because Damian was so afraid and he wanted nothing more than take that fear away, but he couldn't.

“You gave him the antidote?”, Jason asked.

Tim nodded, his heart hurt.

“And he's still like this? Jesus...”

Red swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

“How's your side?”

The Red Hood winced.

“I'll need stitches. Lost a good amount of blood, too.”

“We should get back to the cave. The GPD will be here soon to pick Scarecrow up, anyway.”

Steph had crouched next to them and was gently rubbing Damian's arm.

“Oh sweetie, it's going to be okay. It'll wear off soon.”, she murmured.

Tim frowned.

“How long _did_ it take for the woman you encountered to go back to normal?”

“I stayed with her for about an hour. After the stuff had worn off, she crashed, _hard._ Fell straight asleep.”

They coaxed Damian to his feet and slowly made their way back to their bikes. The younger boy was clinging to his hand the entire time, making frightened noises at the smallest of sounds and constantly jumping at nothing.

They arrived at the cave and Damian took one look at the looming shadows, before hiding his face against Tim's chest again. He threw Steph and Jason a helpless look while rubbing the younger boy's back.

“I'll get this lug to the med-bay and see if Dick and Bruce are back. Maybe they can help calm him down somewhat.”, Steph said, holding onto Jason, who was swaying slightly, his side soaked in red.

Tim nodded and watched them go.

“D-Drake?”

“Hm?”

“Don't- don't l-let me go, p-please.”

Tim swallowed and pressed a soft kiss into the smaller boy's hair.

“I won't. I promise.”

Damian pressed his ear over Tim's heart, listening to his heartbeat. It seemed to calm him a bit, he was still shaking, but the tremors weren't as violent anymore.

The older boy reached up, cupping Damian's face and gently trailing his thumb over his cheekbone.

“Tim? Damian?”

Dick and Bruce walked up to them slowly and Damian flinched at first, but then turned slightly towards them.

“B-Baba?”

Tim's stomach dropped, Damian only called Bruce that when he was badly injured, or, apparently, really scared.

Bruce crouched in front of them, Damian had actually turned to him, his breathing was still too fast and he was still clinging to Tim with one hand, but he wasn't hiding his face, at least.

“Hey, habibi. How are you doing?”

Bruce reached out and gently ran a hand through his son's hair.

“I... I'm s-scared... he's hiding in t-the shadows... b-but it- it was worse... before. Drake helped.”

Tim felt something warm and soft bloom inside him at that.

“Did he, now?”

Bruce threw him a look that was half knowing, half amusement.

Tim felt his face flush in mortification.

_Oh god, Bruce knows!_

“Who's in the shadows?”, Dick asked, worried.

Their eldest brother had sat himself on the floor next to them and taken Damian's free hand.

The boy inhaled sharply, then let it out shakily.

“Grandfather... he's w-watching...”

Tim bit his lip. It said a lot that Damian's greatest fear was his grandfather.

“Rhas can't hurt you. He won't take you away from me and he will not come here to harm you.”

Bruce's words were fierce, but full of love, and Damian visibly relaxed.

The boy actually yawned and Tim remembered what Steph had said about the woman that had been dosed.

“He's probably gonna crash soon.”, he warned.

Bruce looked up at him and Tim felt a stab of worry at the dark circles beneath his eyes.

“We'll better get you ready for bed, then. How does that sound, Dames?”, Dick said, gently tugging his little brother's domino off.

Damian rubbed his eyes and gave a tired nod, but actually turned to Tim.

“Thank you, Timothy.”

Tim's stomach did a happy little flip.

_Wait, did he just call me-_ and then his brain completely short-circuited because Damian  _kissed him on the cheek._

The older boy made a squeaky noise at the back of his throat and slapped a hand over his cheek, which was still tingling. His entire face felt hot and he was sure he was blushing like mad.

“Uh... okay. Let's go, Little D.”

Dick held out his hand and Damian took it, sleepily stumbling after his big brother.

Bruce chuckled and stood, he put a large hand on Tim's head and ruffled his hair.

“You should probably go to sleep too. You've had a long night.”

Tim nodded happily and made his way further into the cave to get out of the suit, floating on cloud nine the entire time.

…

…

…

Steph closed the car-door beside her, taking a deep breath of the cool night air. Her boyfriend exited the car on the driver's side. He'd offered to drive her home after he'd carried Damian, who hadn't even made it out of the cave before falling asleep, to bed.

“Hey, uh, Steph?”, Dick asked after she had taken his hand and started walking to the entrance of her apartment building, “Does Tim have crush on Damian?”

The blonde stopped in the middle of the first staircase.

“You're only catching onto that now?”

Dick stopped and blinked at her, his midnight blue eyes wide.

“Yeah? Why, how long has that been going on?”

A laugh bubbled past her lips and she hopped up on the next stair, so she was at the same height as him.

“Oh, Tim's only been head over heels for the better part of two years and I'm pretty sure Damian's been crushing from the very beginning.”

The dark haired man's jaw dropped.

“Damian's been _what?!_ ”

She couldn't help it, she burst into laughter.

“You didn't know? Did he not tell you?”, she asked after, she had caught her breath and they continued up to her floor.

“No, although... there were some weird moments recently that should've tipped me off. How did you know?”

Steph shrugged, as she opened her door.

“He told me.... well, I might've threatened it out of him.”

“ _Steph._ ”

She giggled and flopped onto the couch.

“Which reminds me, I need to talk to him about that. Timmy's too much of a scaredy-cat to confess first, so it's up to Damian to get that show on the road.”

Dick chuckled, the sound making her stomach flip, and sat next to her. He pulled her against his side and she nuzzled into his neck.

“I still can't really wrap my head around the thought of those two together, but if it makes them happy, then it's all good.”

She pressed a kiss to his jaw and reached up to cup his cheek.

“So they have the Richard Grayson seal of approval, huh?”

He hummed, tilting his head into her touch and pressing his lips against her wrist. Her heart skittered in her chest.

“Do _I_ have your seal of approval?”, she purred, looking at him from underneath her lashes.

He wound a hand into her golden curls and kissed her.

“Definitely.”, he breathed against her lips, before claiming them again.

She moaned as he licked into her mouth, his tongue hot and insistent against hers, and swung a leg around so she could straddle him.

He gently tugged her head back by her hair, exposing the long line of her throat, and started to suck and nip at the sensitive skin. Her hands had found their way under his shirt, exploring the hard planes of his chest, one of her thumbs brushed over a pebbled nipple, making him arch into the touch with a gasp. His free hand had taken hold of her ass, giving the cheek a firm squeeze. She kissed him again, tongues twining, and ground her aching core against the hard bulge she could feel in his pants. She swallowed his groan and wound her arms around his neck, after breaking the kiss to take in some, much needed, air.

“Take me.”, she breathed into his ear, taking the lobe between her teeth and tugging slightly, “I want you to fuck me.”

“ _Steph._ ”, he moaned and wound his other arm underneath her. Dick then stood, taking her up with him and Steph had to stifle a moan, because- _fuck, that was hot._

He carried her into her bedroom and laid her down like she was the most precious thing in the world. Her heart bloomed with adoration.

She watched him, enchanted, as he took off his shirt and pants, the shadows painting his body. His cock stood, strong and proud, and she swallowed, remembering what he had felt like inside of her.

Steph made to take her own clothes off, but Dick held up a hand.

“Ah, let me.”

So she laid back as he straddled her, his hands slowly sliding up her shirt, the smooth glide of skin on skin made the muscles in her belly quiver. He leaned over her, kissing every new inch of skin that was revealed. Steph was panting by the time he reached the underside of her breasts, nosing at the thin fabric of her bra. He tugged her top over her head, while one hand went behind her, to free her breasts from their confines. Her nipples were hard and aching, and as soon as they were free, Dick took one into his mouth, relieving the ache by laving at it. One hand went up to the other breast and kneaded it gently. Steph's back arched and she groaned at the sweet sensations he was creating. Her hips jerked with want. She was hot down there, her core pulsing with need and she squirmed as she felt a wave of wetness soak into her underwear. She needed him, _she needed him._

“Dick, please!”, she whined, her voice high and breathy.

He chuckled, low and gravelly, as he kissed along the valley between her breasts, going down, down, making her whimper as his tongue dipped into her navel, before he traveled further to her jeans. He opened the button and she lifted her hips so he could pull them off. Dick pressed a kiss to the inside of her knee, before he let a finger glide up and down her slit. They both moaned.

“Fuck, you're wet.”

“Because you've been driving me crazy!”, she accused, glaring at him as he smirked.

“Oh? Have I, now?”

“Yes, you- oh, _god!_ ”, Steph cried out, spreading her legs.

He had slipped a finger inside her, all the way up to the second knuckle, and was gently moving it in and out.

Steph squirmed, panting, as he pushed in a second finger and began scissoring them. She moaned freely, throwing her head from side to side as heat bubbled up inside her. She had to clamp a hand over her mouth, to stop from screaming, when he actually leaned down and started licking her clit. She wound her free hand into his hair, to have something to hold onto, and squeezed her eyes shut as a firestorm burned her from the inside. She dimly heard him moan, through the rushing of blood in her ears and slowly opened her eyes, breathing heavily as she came down.

“Fuck.”, she breathed, carding a hand through her sweaty hair.

“You alright?”, he asked, softly, hovering over her.

Instead of answering, she pulled him down into a kiss. She could taste herself on him.

Steph reached over to her nightstand and began rummaging through it.

“What are you doing?”, Dick asked, while pressing a kiss to her collarbone.

“Looking for a condom, my dude. I'm not getting pregnant again.”

Steph made a triumphant noise in the back of her throat and held up the little package.

Dick snorted.

“You know, I have one in my wallet. I could've just gotten it.”

She grinned and pressed her knees against his hips, giving them a little wiggle.

“But you would've had to move, and this position is just _very_ convenient.”

He chuckled roughly, taking the condom from her and rolling it on with practiced ease.

Dick positioned himself, but paused, stroking some of the hair out of her face.

“You ready?”

She wound her arms around him and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips.

“Ready.”

Steph's lips parted as he slowly sank into her, the hard warmth of his cock leaving a sweet burn as her walls stretched around him. She made a soft noise at the back of her throat and he exhaled shakily as he settled into her fully.

She let her hand glide over the muscles in his back, which were quivering with the effort to stay still.

“Shit, I don't- I don't think I'm gonna last long.”, Dick breathed into her neck.

“That's okay. You feel incredible.”

She carded a hand through his hair, gasping as he slowly pulled out and pushed back in.

Steph's heart was thundering against her rib cage and she could feel Dick's pulsing inside her, just as fast.

She let her head fall back, feeling his moans vibrating through her, as she rocked her hips to meet his. She let out high pitched little mewls as he began to pick up speed, the slick slide of his cock leaving her breathless. Steph pressed kisses to his jaw and throat and pulled him in so he was flush against her, her breasts pressed flat against his chest.

“Steph... _Steph._ ”, he gasped, thrusting into her, hard and fast.

“Dick.”, she panted, wrapping her legs around his hips to take him deeper into her, “Come. Come for me, Dick.”

And he did so, beautifully, shaking apart in her arms, a long moan spilling from his lips.

Steph exhaled slowly, her pleasure fading, and gently trailed her fingertips down his sweat-slick back. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of him softening inside her, before she gave his butt a pat.

“Not to ruin the moment, but you're kinda squishing me.”

“Shit, sorry!”

Dick rolled off of her, he pulled off the condom and flicked it in the direction of the trashcan in the corner of the room, but missed, it landed with a wet splat next to it.

A giggle bubbled past her lips as she cuddled up to him.

“Don't worry, I'll clean it up tomorrow. No good post-coital aim, hm?”

He snorted and ran a hand down her arm.

“Nah, not really.”

…

…

…

Gotham PD Victim Report

Name: Lee Ford

Age: 14

Sex: Male

Height: 1,60 m

Weight: 59 kg

Eye color: Green

Hair color: Dark Brown

Cause of Death: Strangulation

Notes: The victim shows signs of repeated sexual assault and mild starvation, there were rope burns around the ankles and wrists, as well as chaffing marks around the neck, the victim has minor defensive wounds. The victim was strangled manually. He was found wearing a cream wedding gown, sheer stockings, lace underwear and a sheer veil. The victim was found on a rooftop and was lying on his back, holding a bouquet of red tulips. The victim was taken from his home a week before his body was discovered. He was killed on the same day he was deposited. This case is connected to the Jones, Farton, Mendez and Jenkins cases and the work of the serial killer known as Bluebeard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is probably my longest chapter in the story.  
> It's kind of like a mid-season finale! Lol.  
> I also suck at fight scenes, so sorry about that.  
> And I have never written a sex scene before, so the one in here is probably terrible.  
> Any pointers?  
> Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

“Bruce?”, Dick asked when he arrived at the cave. The older male was hunched over the console of the Batcomputer, the smiling faces of five boys were shown on the screen and Dick felt his stomach plummet, when Bruce added a sixth boy.

“The fifth victim was found? And he already has another boy?”, Dick choked.

When they hadn't found a body last night, they'd thought that they maybe had more time.

Apparently not. No. They had even less time.

“He was found in the early morning. You would've known that if you'd been here.”, Bruce ground out between gritted teeth.

“I was at Steph's.”, he said carefully, knowing that Bruce's temper had been getting shorter with each dead child.

“You shouldn't distract yourself with trivialities.”

The younger man crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes, feeling anger bubble inside his stomach.

_Fuck that._

“Steph is not a _triviality_ , she's my girlfriend. And what good would it do me, or the victims, if I buried myself in this case, like you are?”, he hissed.

Bruce turned to him, his eyes hooded.

“I am not-”

“Yes, you are! When's the last time you've had a good night's rest? You're not doing anyone any good if you're too tired to think. And what about the boys? When's the last time you've spoken to them, and I mean an actual conversation, and not just a few sentences?! You told Jason to stay away from this, because he would be too invested, but you're doing the very same thing! You're getting sucked into this fucking case and losing yourself! Bruce, take a goddamn break!”

Dick took a deep breath after he was done.

_Fuck, that had been building for a while..._

Bruce stared at him, looking downright exhausted, then he sighed heavily and scrubbed a hand through his hair.

“I- You're right. I'm sorry...”

The young man laid a hand on his shoulder.

“It's okay. I know this is hard on you, fuck, it's hard on me too.”, he rubbed a hand over his face.

The older man seemed to deflate before his eyes.

“Well, damn. I haven't heard Dickiebird blow up like that in a while.”

The both turned to the med-bay, from where Jason was slowly making his way over to them.

“Hey, Jay. How's your side?”, Bruce asked.

Jason eyed him for a moment, before leaning his broad frame against the wall, next to the stairs that led to the manor.

“It's fine, fucker got me good. I'll have to be careful not to tear the stitches. How're you? You look like shit, old man.”

Dick sent his younger brother a glare, but Bruce just chuckled.

“I'm feeling like it, too, Jaybird. Maybe your brother is right. I should probably get some sleep.”

“Well, shit. Maybe you should blow up more often, Golden Boy.”

Dick snorted as the three of them headed up the stairs to the manor.

…

…

…

Damian sat in the den, drawing. His heart started to pound as he thought about last night, and not for Scarecrow-related reasons. No, Damian had shoved everything related to _that_ into a tiny box somewhere in his mind, never to be opened again. What he was thinking about was Drake, or maybe Timothy?, he had called him Timothy last night.

And he had kissed him on the cheek. The boy could feel his own cheeks heating at the memory. He pressed his lips together. Timothy's skin had been very soft.

Damian laid his pencil aside, closed his sketchbook, and pressed it against his chest.

This one was filled with pictures and sketches of his family and friends, with some drawings of Gotham's rogues peppered in between. There were also a lot of pictures of Timothy in there, like, _a lot._ If someone were to take a look at this notebook, then it wouldn't take them too long to figure Damian's feelings for the older boy out. Damian couldn't help it, though.

Timothy was just too pretty.

He just _had_ to draw him.

As if his thoughts had summoned him, the older boy walked into the room. He gave him one of his sweet smiles and Damian felt his stomach swoop.

“Hey, Dami. How are you doing?”

Timothy sat next to him and, after a moment of hesitation, reached out to tentatively run his fingers through the younger boy's hair. Damian melted into the touch, his heart soaring.

“I'm well. No ill effects from the fear toxin, at all.”

The older boy's lavender eyes softened.

“Good. I'm glad.”

Damian ducked his head, feeling his cheeks warm.

“Thank you, for helping me... “

The older boy blushed prettily and cleared his throat.

“You, uh, you already thanked me and- and you would've done the same, anyway.”

Damian looked up, drinking in the sight of the other.

“I would have.”, he said softly.

Timothy's eyes met his and, for a moment, Damian allowed himself to drown in them, falling into their sweet, soft warmth.

The younger boy bit his lip and gathered all his courage.

“Timothy, I-”, he swallowed, his heart pounding in his throat, “I w-want to show you some-something.”

The smaller boy could feel his entire face heat up, internally cursing his voice for shaking.

He then held out his sketchbook to him, his fingers trembling slightly.

“Your-your sketchbook? You're allowing me to see it?”

Damian nodded, not trusting his voice to come out at all.

Timothy took the book from him and Damian's gaze hit the ground. He didn't dare to look up as he heard the turning of pages.

“Damian, these are amazing.”, the older boy breathed.

He ducked his head at the compliment, something warm bubbling in his stomach.

After what felt like hours, Timothy laid the sketchbook down on the coffee-table, running the tips of his fingers over the cover, almost reverently.

“There are- There are a lot of sketches of me in here.”

Damian nodded, not looking up. His face still felt hot.

“Why?”, Timothy asked, his voice breathless with something that Damian didn't dare to identify as hope.

“I... I like drawing beautiful things and... and I think you're very beautiful.”

He heard the older boy's breath hitch and felt fingers underneath his chin, gently guiding his gaze upwards. Timothy had an expression of awe on his face as he looked at him.

“I think you're beautiful, too.”

Damian's breath caught and he tentatively reached out, caressing the older boy's cheek. Timothy leaned into it, his warm eyes never leaving Damian's. He leaned forward and their foreheads touched. Damian was close enough, that he could see the tiny flecks of purple, hidden in the pale blue of Timothy's eyes. He reached out, splaying a hand on the other's chest, feeling his quick heartbeat underneath his palm, and he could feel Timothy cup his cheek, gently running his thumb over Damian's cheekbone.

The two boys stayed like that for a moment, sharing breaths with each other.

Damian didn't know who moved first, and it didn't really matter.

Timothy's lips were incredibly soft, and his heart melted at being kissed so gently. Like he was something precious, something to be cherished.

Damian blinked after the other boy pulled away. Timothy let out a breath, smiling as if he couldn't quite believe this had really happened. Damian felt giddiness bubble up inside him and he couldn't stop the giggle that made it past his lips. Timothy laughed as well, pulling him into a hug. The younger boy wrapped his arms around him, in turn, and tucked his head underneath his chin.

“I'm in love with you.”, Timothy whispered after pressing a kiss into his hair.

“I'm in love with you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, am I proud of that confession! ^^  
> Ngl, I giggled like an idiot while writing it.  
> Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Steph walked along the hallway, to her apartment door. Her laundry basket was propped against her hip and she was humming under her breath. She fumbled the door open with one hand and kicked it shut behind her.

She dropped the basket and felt bile rise in her throat.

On her coffee-table sat an envelope.

_No... No! How?! How did he get in?!_

Her heart in her throat, she walked up to the table and shakily opened the envelope. It was thicker than usual and she could feel something soft inside it.

She took out the letter, it was surprisingly short, but the single sentence made her blood freeze.

_Y_ oU W _ho_ Re, yOu A _R_ e goIn _g T_ o BuRn fO _r th_ iS!

Inside were pictures of her and Dick, laughing, holding hands, kissing, and a one of her panties.

It had burn marks in it.

Steph gagged, she had been missing that one only for a few days, she had thought it had maybe fallen under her bed. This meant that he had been in her apartment without leaving a trace.

And that he'd somehow gotten past the boys traps.

Her world spun and she hastily stuffed everything back into the envelope, before grabbing her keys and storming out of her apartment, her laundry left forgotten and scattered on the ground.

She made it to the manor in record time, hands shaking on the steering wheel of her car.

She found Bruce, Jason and Dick in the kitchen and threw herself into her boyfriend's arms.

“Hey, Steph- oof! What- What's wrong?”, he asked, concerned.

He could probably feel the tears, that were running down her face, soaking into his shirt.

“He was in my apartment again! When I came back, there was this letter just sitting on my table and... and he's angry... and there are pic-pictures of us... a-and burn marks a-a-and...”

Her throat closed up and she felt panic rise within her, because she couldn't breathe.  _She couldn't breathe!_

She touched her throat, her breath was coming in short little gasps, but no air was reaching her lungs.

Dick took her face in his hands.

“Steph, I need you to breathe, okay?”

She shook her head, feeling lightheaded.

“I can't! I can't!”, she choked.

“Yes, you can.”, he said firmly, “Breathe with me. In.... and out.”

She forced in a breath, her lungs aching with the effort it took.

“Just like that. And in... and out... you're doing great.”

Steph closed her eyes, just focusing on taking in air. Dick held her, gently stroking a hand over her hair.

“What's going on?”, Tim asked, after he came into the kitchen, holding Damian's hand.

“That's what I'd like to know.”, Bruce intoned.

Steph turned, still leaning back against Dick, taking comfort in his solid presence.

“I've been receiving letters and pictures from a stalker for some time now. Timmy and Dames trapped my apartment after the last one, since this _asshole_ took photos of me while I was asleep... But he somehow keeps getting in.”

“He was in your apartment _again?!_ ”, Damian exclaimed.

Steph just closed her eyes and nodded.

She was so tired of this, she wanted it to stop.

“Why was I not informed of this?”

Bruce had a worried frown on his face.

“You were so focused on the Bluebeard case, I mean, you even gave the search for Scarecrow to the kids. I thought you wouldn't want to _distract_ yourself with this.”

There was something wounded in Dicks voice and Steph wondered if him and Bruce had had a fight.

The older man sighed.

“I'm sorry about that. To all of you. I should have been paying more attention and not get sucked into this case.”

There was a beat of silence, until Jason spoke up.

“What about me? How come I'm always the last one to learn about anything? Dick and Steph hooking up. This stalker business. The Demonbrat and Timmers, yeah don't think I haven't noticed you two holding hands the entire time. What's that about? You two a thing, now?”

Steph's mouth dropped open and her head whipped around to the two youngest members of the family.

Both boys blushed, but smiled and Damian inched a little closer to Tim.

“Ah, well, this is actually kinda new?”, Tim said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

Steph felt elation bubble up inside her and she made a delighted noise, while pulling the two boys into a hug.

“Oh, I'm so happy for you!”

“Jeez, Steph, mood swings, much?”, Jason snarked.

“Oh, shut up, Jay! I've been shipping this for years!”

“Sh-shipping?”, Damian asked, confused.

Bruce chuckled, rising from the kitchen-table.

“While these _are_ very happy news. I think we should head down to the cave and see if there's anything on here.”, he shook the envelope, containing the letter, photos and panties.

Tim frowned.

“We already ran every letter through the Batcomputer, he never leaves anything on them.”

“I hate to say it, Timbo, but he might've left a little something on the panties.”

Steph scrunched her nose up in disgust at the implication of Jason's sentence.

“Oh, ew.”

Dick placed a warm hand on the small of her back, as the batclan headed down to their cave.

Bruce immediately headed for the computer, Dick leaning over the console next to him.

Steph sat down next to Tim and Damian, the latter of which had laid his head on the older boys shoulder.

“So, I have to ask: Who confessed to whom here?”

“Ten bucks on the Baby Bat! Replacement doesn't have the balls!”, Jason called from where he was sitting on the railing behind the computer.

“Hey!”, Tim exclaimed, indignant.

“Am I wrong, though?”

The younger teenager's mouth opened, then closed, his cheeks flushing.

“I mean, technically, he _did_ say the words first, but I showed him my sketchbook, so...”

Steph's face lit up with a grin.

“You showed him the drawing of him?”

Damian's face took on a very interesting shade of red.

“There, ah, there might've been more than one...”

The blond girl snorted.

“They're amazing, though! I mean all of the drawings, he's done. Dami's really talented!”, Tim gushed, his eyes sparkling with adoration.

The younger boy ducked his head at the compliment.

“They're not _that_ good...”

“Yes they are.”

Tim pressed a kiss to Damian's cheek, making the younger boy giggle, he then proceeded to press little kisses all over the smaller boy's face. Damian _squeaked_ with laughter, wrapping his arms around Tim's neck and burying his face against his chest.

“Stop it!”, he laughed.

“Never!”

Steph had to press her fingers to her mouth to keep from cooing.

_Damn, they're adorable._

“Dear god. You're gonna give us all diabetes, aren't you?”, Jason asked, aghast.

Dick snorted.

“You're just salty because your own boyfriend is out on League business.”

“Fuck off, Dickface. At least I'm not robbing the cradle.”

Steph opened her mouth to shoot an indignant reply back, but Damian was faster.

“No, but Harper's the one cradle-robbing _you_.”

Dick let out a bark of laughter at that and Steph snickered.

Jason made to snap something back, but the Batcomputer interrupted him. Bruce frowned up at the screen, then typed something into the keyboard and let the computer run through something else.

“And?”, Dick asked, all traces of mirth gone from his face.

Steph felt nervousness churn in her stomach, but relaxed slightly when a hand took her own and gave it a gentle squeeze. She blinked in surprise when she realized it was Damian who'd reached out for her. The younger boy gave her a little smile and Steph returned it, twining their fingers together.

“Seems like Jason was right. There were traces of semen on the underwear, I'm running it through the database of registered sex offenders. If he's in there, then we have him.”

“He nutted on them? That's so gross.”, Tim pulled a face and Steph silently agreed.

A few tense seconds passed until the computer let out a beep.

Her shoulders fell at Bruce's grim expression.

“No match.”

“Fuck!”, Dick hissed, pushing away from the console and burying his hands in his hair.

“Maybe you should stay at the manor, just until we can be sure you're safe.”, Bruce suggested.

Steph thought for a moment. She would be safer at the manor, and it would certainly be fun to stay with the others for a while, but. But. If she came here, would he follow her? Would he threaten not only her, but the boys and Bruce too? She couldn't let that happen. And she would not let this piece of shit scare her out of her home. She was Spoiler, damn it! If he wanted a piece of her, then he could damn well try!

Letting go of Damian's hand, she stood, anger making her blood boil.

“ _No._ I'm not letting this asshole scare me into hiding. I am staying at my apartment.”

“He threatened you, though.”, Jason said, looking at her with his Lazarus tainted eyes.

“Let him come. I'll smash his fucking face in.”, she snarled.

_I'm done being scared. I'm done crying. You won't get to me anymore, you son of a bitch._


	9. Chapter 9

Steph woke to the sound of a phone buzzing. She rolled around and squinted into the darkness. Dick grumbled something next to her, then picked up his phone.

“Yeah?...”

She pulled her blanket farther up, after her boyfriend sat up in bed.

“Jay? What's going on?... No, I'm at Steph's...Okay? You comin' in your civs?... Yeah, all right...”

“Whazz wrong?”, she asked, still half asleep.

Dick rubbed a hand over his face blearily.

“Jason's gonna come by. Says he needs to talk to me. Somethin' about Tim and Dames.”

Steph snorted into her pillow.

“He probably just realized that they're eventually gonna have sex and is freaking out about it.”

“Yeah, that's... wait, _what?!_ ”, he squawked.

Steph laughed and turned her back on him.

“Get going. I'll catch some more z's.”

Dick leaned over her and pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Alright.”

Steph closed her eyes, drifting in that state between awake and asleep for a while, until the mattress dipped with another person's weight.

_Huh, that was quick..._

Her eyes snapped open when her hands were grabbed and roughly pulled above her head, cold metal biting into her wrists, and the familiar sound of handcuffs closing, sounded in her ears.

“Dick, wha-”

All the color drained from her face, because the person leaning over her was not Dick.

It was a tall, gangly man, with scruffy brown hair and dark eyes.

She tugged at the handcuffs, he had cuffed her to the headboard. She opened her mouth to spit something at him, but instead choked on a mouthful of foul liquid, that he began pouring over her and her apartment.

Steph hacked and coughed, trying to spit out the disgusting stuff.

Her heart stopped, however, because she  _recognized_ the taste.

He was pouring gasoline over her.  _He was pouring gasoline over her._

Panic welled up inside her and she tugged frantically at the handcuffs. Then she remembered, Dick and Jay were outside and the window in her living room was open.

She needed to scream, they'd hear her.

“Dick! Dick, Jason! _Help!_ ”

Her mind froze as she heard the sound of a match being struck.

“I told you, you would burn for this.”

_No, wait!_

The match hit the ground and Steph was engulfed in flames.

The girl screamed, like she had never screamed before.

She was burning.  _She was burning._ Her skin bubbled and blackened, her bones cracked and her blood boiled, with the heat. The roar of the fire was deafening her and the oddly appealing scent of cooking meat filled her nose.

Steph had never felt agony like this, not even giving birth had been as painful. She could taste copper on her tongue, and wasn't sure if it was blood bubbling up from her throat, or her own flesh melting into her mouth. Black spots filled her vision and the darkness claimed her, taking her away from the hell she had been put into.

…

…

…

Tim snorted at Red Hood's rather clumsy landing on the rooftop, Robin cackled outright.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. My fucking grapple-gun isn't working.”

Tim tilted his head to the side.

“Huh, Damian had a similar problem a while back.”

God, that felt like a lifetime ago, now.

“Father fixed it. I don't know what he did, though.”

Jason shrugged.

“Doesn't matter. I'll do the rest of my patrol without it.”

“You could just take mine.”, Red Robin offered.

“Dami and I are finished for the night, anyway. We'll just take the Redbird home.”

Damian beamed at him and Tim felt his heart swell.

“Yeah, sure. Thanks, Tim Tam.”

Jason left with a wave over his shoulder, swinging to the next building with a whoop.

“We might have to check over our equipment. We can't have it give out on us all the time.”

Damian had padded over and wound his arms around Tim's neck. The older boy placed his hands on Robin's hips, drawing circles with his thumbs.

“I'll talk to Bruce about it.”, he said, before kissing his boyfriend.

_I still can't believe that Damian is my boyfriend, now. This feels like a dream._

Damian melted against him, whimpering as Tim licked into his mouth. The older boy, pulled the younger flush against him, humming as their tongues twined together. Damian wound a gloved hand into his hair and-  _is there somebody coming up the fire-escape?_

Red Robin broke the kiss and stepped aside, Robin turned as well, hearing the same heavy footsteps on the creaking metal.

A broad-shouldered man with long, dirty-blonde hair came up the stairs, carrying something.

Tim felt his heart drop into his stomach.

He was carrying a boy, dressed in a white wedding gown.

They had encountered Bluebeard.

Tim quickly pressed the emergency beacon at his belt, knowing that Jason wasn't far and would rush back at the activation of the signal.

He heard Damian's breath hitch, as the man laid down the body, and decided to act.

“Robin, call in Batman.”

With that he took off towards the man, who actually took the punch he swung at him, with only a surprised grunt.

“Well, aren't I lucky.”, he said, his voice like sandpaper on stone, “Little Robin is quite pretty, it seems I have found my seventh bride.”

Everything inside of Tim stopped for a moment, then white hot anger blazed through him. His lip curling with a mixture of rage and disgust, because how _dare_ he think about doing something like that to Damian. Damian, who was beautiful, and kind, and sweet, and way too good for this asshole.

_You piece of shit!_

Tim lunged, not wanting to subdue, or to stall, but to  _hurt._ Bluebeard dodged his furious swipe. And then Tim got his cape grabbed, which was a  _rookie mistake._ 'Watch your cape.' was one of the first lessons every Robin learned, and Tim had forgotten in his anger. 

The boy was yanked of his feet and sent sailing. His heart lurched into his throat as the save ground disappeared from underneath him and there was nothing but air.

Nothing but air, and a seven story drop.

He saw Robin lunge for him, his hand outstretched. Tim reached out as well, a conversation that they'd had a lifetime ago, popping into his mind.

“ _I'll always catch you.”_

“ _Me too.”_

Their fingertips brushed.

Damian's shriek of “ _No!_ ” tore at his heart. Tim was screaming, screaming, _screaming._

Not because of the fall, no, he was screaming because there was an arm around Damian's throat, closing off his air way. He was screaming because-

_He's taking Damian! He's taking Damian! He's taking-_

He hit the ground and was gone.

…

…

…

Gotham PD Victim Report

Name: James Harway

Age: 13

Sex: Male

Height: 1,58 m

Weight: 55 kg

Eye color: Blue

Hair color: Black

Cause of Death: Strangulation

Notes: The victim shows signs of repeated sexual assault and mild starvation, there were rope burns around the ankles and wrists, as well as chaffing marks around the neck, the victim has minor defensive wounds. The victim was strangled manually. He was found wearing a white wedding gown, sheer stockings, lace underwear and a sheer veil. The victim was found on a rooftop and was lying on his back, holding a bouquet of red roses. The victim was taken from his home a week before his body was discovered. He was killed on the same day he was deposited. This case is connected to the Jones, Farton, Mendez, Jenkins and Ford cases and the work of the serial killer known as Bluebeard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this happened...  
> Please don't kill me?


	10. Chapter 10

Damian awoke with a jolt, his heart pounding in his ears.

_Timothy... oh, god... please, no..._

The fourteen year-old felt tears well up in his eyes. Timothy had fallen down seven stories onto pavement.  _His head would've burst like a watermelon..._

A sob tore itself from his throat and he buried his face in his knees.

His naked knees.

The boy jerked and stared down at himself, with blurry vision. He was completely naked.

Fear bit into his heart like a viper. Bluebeard had him.

Damian looked around the dim room. It was a cellar, an old one, too. The ceiling was rounded and the walls were made of stones of different sizes, cobbled together. The ground was just dirt, stamped down to make a somewhat flat surface.

It was cold and damp, and Damian felt goosebumps rise on his skin.

It smelled like wet earth, and fear, and pain.

Damian curled further into himself, the heavy iron collar that was attached by a chain to the wall, chaffed uncomfortably against his neck.

The boy flinched when the door, at the top of a small set of stairs, banged open.

Bluebeard walked in, his steel-blue eyes taking Damian in with a manic glint.

He threw a water bottle at him and Damian reflexively caught it.

“You are truly magnificent, Little Bird. My seventh bride, returned to me in this life. Don't worry, this time we won't be parted.”

With that he turned and left. Damian swallowed. He would probably return soon.

_Bluebeard and his seven wives..._

Damian knew the tale of Bluebeard, it being a french folktale about a rich man whose previous wives have mysteriously vanished. He marries his neighbor's daughter, the seventh bride, who discovers the corpses of the other wives in the basement. Bluebeard threatens to kill her, but her brothers arrive just in time, to save her, and kill Bluebeard. The girl inherits the castle and riches of her almost-murderer, and lives happily ever after.

_I am the seventh..._

Damian closed his eyes, silently hoping that his brothers would save him too.

…

…

…

Steph opened her eyes to whiteness. Her body felt oddly distant, like she was floating on air.

_Am I dead?_

“Steph?...”

She turned her head and winced as pain flared along her neck and torso.

_Ow, bad idea._

A hand took hers and Dick's face came into view, above her. He looked terrible, with red rimmed eyes and the shadow of a beard painting his cheeks.

“Dick...”, she croaked, and _wow,_ her voice sounded like she smoked ten packs a day and chased each one down with a glass of whiskey.

Her throat also hurt like a bitch.

Her boyfriend, who was absolutely amazing, held a glass of water with a straw in it in front of her, and she took careful sips.

“Your throat was damaged from the screaming...”

Dick looked like he was about to cry and Steph wanted nothing more than to take him into her arms, but she had a feeling that attempting to move was a very bad idea at the moment.

“How... How bad is it?”

“They had to do reconstructive surgery on your face and... and they're not entirely sure if your hair is gonna grow back... It's a miracle you're alive, only your back and hands were spared from the fire... I... Steph, when I got you out of there... I thought- I thought you were dead.”

He choked on a sob and she squeezed his hand.

She could feel her own eyes well up with tears.

She wanted to hug him so badly, both for him, and for herself.

It took a few moments for Dick to gather himself.

“Tim's a few rooms down the hall.”

Her heart dropped into her stomach.

“What? Why?”

Dick swallowed heavily.

“The boys ran into Bluebeard... Tim fell off the roof, Jason had to perform CPR on him until the ambulance arrived... he's in a coma, now.”

Steph made a noise in the back of her throat, which hurt, but she couldn't stop it.

_Jason performed CPR? That means Timmy was dead..he was... oh, god._

She felt Dicks thumb run over her knuckles.

“How is Damian taking it?”, she asked.

The poor kid was probably a mess.

The young man made a wounded noise.

“He doesn't know.... Bluebeard has him.”

Steph's heart stopped.

_No..._

“How long?”

Dick grimaced, tears running down his face again, he couldn't look at her.

“Dick, how _long has it been?_ ”

He closed his eyes and his answer chilled her to her very core.

“Six days.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, sorry fpr the long wait, my internet is really shitty and keeps crashing.  
> I wish you all a merry christmas!  
> Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

Jason rode his motorcycle through Gotham's gray streets. The pale light of dawn blurring the edges of buildings and giving everything a dream-like appearance. The bats were usually not out when the sun rose, avoiding the first golden rays of day, like their namesake.

Tonight was different.

It was the seventh night since Damian's disappearance.

Jason hated the fact that they were looking for a body, but at the same time, he was relieved that they hadn't found anything. Damian might still be alive. After all, the seventh bride was special to this psycho, maybe he'd keep him for longer because of that.

And Jason really, _really,_ did not want to think about what this monster was doing to Damian while he had him.

Should he run into Bluebeard, right now, he'd put a bullet in his brain, no matter what. At this point, he was pretty sure, Bruce wouldn't even care.

Jason hated Bluebeard with a burning passion, but, most of all, he hated _himself._

Because it was his fault this had happened in the first place.

If he hadn't taken Tim's grapple-gun, then he would've just been able to swing back up, they would've been able to either subdue the murderer, or stall him long enough for Batman to arrive. And with Tim and Damian safe, Jason wouldn't have had any reason to go to Steph's and call Dick down, giving the asshole that stalked her the opportunity to set her on fire.

Jason _hated_ himself for that, and he hadn't slept a wink since that night.

Whenever he closed his eyes he either saw Tim's broken body, or heard Steph's tortured screams.

A flash of white from the corner of his eye, caught his attention and he felt his stomach drop as he wheeled around and turned into the side street.

It was Damian.

He was stumbling along, in the middle of the road, swaying slightly and walking vaguely in the direction of the manor. He was also wearing one of those _fucking_ dresses.

Jason felt tears rise in his eyes. His little brother was _alive._

“Damian!”

He left his motorcycle by the side of the road and ran toward the younger boy, rounding on him.

His heart dropped into his stomach. Damian was _covered_ in blood, a large stain on the bodice of the dress, and smaller speckles painting his face and hair. His hands were bathed in the stuff, as was the hammer he was clutching.

_Did he bash the dude's head in?_

“Damian.”, Jason said gently, not wanting to spook the boy.

But Damian just kept swaying forward and the older teen had to take a few steps back, so he didn't bump into him.

_What's going on?_

He carefully reached out and laid his hands on Damian's shoulders, to stop him.

“Damian, can you hear me?”

His little brother just kept staring ahead, his green eyes glassy and unseeing.

Jason swallowed, hard, then he reached for his comm.

“B, I found Damian. He's alive. I'm bringing him back to the cave, now.”

The comm crackled for a heartbeat, then Bruce's voice came through, rough with worry.

“How is he?”

Jason eyed the boy, who had yet to acknowledge his presence in any way.

“Bad. I think- I think he's in shock?”

“Alright, bring him home.”

Jason gently stirred Damian towards his motorcycle, he came easily, just following where Jason led him.

Unease churned in his stomach as he maneuvered Damian on the motorcycle in front of him.

He'd never seen the Baby Bat be this quiet.

They arrived at the cave and Jason gently helped Damian dismount, the stupid dress making it more difficult than it needed to be.

“Damian! Oh, thank-!”, Dick stopped dead in his tracks as he caught sight of them.

It was probably the dress, after all Dick had seen all the other victims.

Damian just kept staring ahead, even when Bruce crouched in front of him.

“Habibi? What's going on?”

Jason crossed his arm and held on to his elbows.

“He's been like this the entire time... I think, he killed Bluebeard.”

_That_ got a reaction out of the boy, he started to tremble and clutched the hammer tighter in his blood encrusted fingers.

“Hey, it's okay. He's gone, now. He can't hurt you.”, Dick said gently.

Damian didn't calm, though, he just kept shaking like a leaf.

“Can you give me this?”, Bruce's hand reached, slowly, for the hammer, “We're going to get you cleaned up and take care of your wounds. How does that sound?”

No answer, although Bruce was able to gently take the hammer from the boy.

Jason grit his teeth, wanting to help, but not knowing how.

He watched as Bruce led his son off to the med-bay and felt absolutely _useless_.

Dick laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“You did good, Jay.”

Jason shook him off.

“Fuck off, Dickface.”

He hadn't _done good._ This was _his_ fault.

Jason turned and walked towards his motorcycle. He couldn't stay around to watch Damian stare into space, or to watch Bruce and Dick hover, with their tired, broken eyes. He couldn't stand it.

It was too painful.

…

…

…

Gotham PD Victim Report

Name: Christopher Statford

Age: 48

Sex: Male

Height: 1,82 m

Weight: 87 kg

Eye color: Blue

Hair color: Blond

Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to the head

Notes: The individual is also known as the serial killer Bluebeard. His live was ended by his seventh victim, Damian Wayne, who caved in his skull with a nearby hammer, while the individual tried to strangle him. His corpse was found in the basement of the Flower-shop he owned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year, everybody!  
> Fun Fact: In my original draft for this story Tim, Steph and Damian all died, but then I hought:  
> "Nah, I can't be that mean. Let's just severly traumatize and maim them!"  
> So, yeah. ^^  
> As always, thanks for reading!


	12. Epilogue

Steph wheeled herself into the hospital room. Damian was already sitting at Tim's bedside, holding his hand. The girl rolled herself over to him.

“Hey, Dames.”, she said, part of her still winced at the sound of her voice, even though it had already been four weeks.

Damian gave her a wave. He hadn't spoken a single word since returning, giving the police only a written report.

“Hello, Timmy.”

Steph reached out and gently ran a hand over Tim's short hair. They'd had to shave it, to perform surgery. She hadn't seen it this short in years.

Tim didn't answer, of course. The doctors weren't sure when he would wake up, or if at all. Then there was the problem of how functional he would even be, should he wake. Tim had had some serious brain damage. They'd done all they could, but there was no guarantee the boy would have much cognitive function, upon returning to the land of the living.

Steph sighed and laid her hand on the arm-rest of her wheelchair, palm turned up, so Damian could take it if he wanted to.

Damian was... Damian was tricky. He had good days, where he spoke to them using ASL, where he picked up a pencil and drew, where he allowed physical contact and even sought it out sometimes, and then there were the bad days, where he shied away from them, where he refused to even write down a single word, where he cried and cried, but wouldn't let anyone comfort him. And then there were the really bad days, where Damian didn't react to anything at all, where he just sat staring into space with a world of pain in his sad eyes.

Fingers twined with her own and she gave the boy's hand a gentle squeeze.

Steph had bad days too. There were times where she wished she had died in the fire, just so she wouldn't have to endure the pain, both physical and mental, anymore. There was also her appearance that weighed her down sometimes. Her hair had thankfully started to grow back, but it was patchy and uneven and the left side of her head would remain completely bald. And her face. Steph had cried the first time they'd given her a mirror. The surgeons had done their best, but she was still badly scarred, her nose oddly flat and one side of her mouth pulled back to reveal her teeth, giving her a permanent sneer. The rest of her body was terribly scarred too, flame patterns snaking across her torso and legs, and marring the underside of her arms.

But Dick, that impossible man, still called her beautiful and she knew that he and everybody else were there for her.

And she was working hard. She wanted to get back in fighting shape, to soar over the rooftops once again. And she wanted to do it at Dick's side too.

Because Spoiler may have burned, but Flamebird would rise from her ashes, stronger than before.

She glanced at Damian as he laid his head against her shoulder, he gave his comatose boyfriends hand a squeeze.

Yes, they would get through this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO, this is it.  
> I hope you had a fun ride!  
> I sure had a blast writing it.  
> I will be posting some one-shots dealing with the aftermath of this, but for all intends and purposes, this story is finished.  
> Thanks to everyone who bookmarked this, gave kodos and left a comment!  
> You are awesome!  
> Until next time, bye!


End file.
